The Tourgoyak has crossed the South Tropics

Today was a significant day. Tourgoyak crossed the South Tropic and entered the tropical latitudes. If everything goes according to plan Fedor and Tourgoyak will spend the majority of the journey, 5-6 months, in these latitudes.

The Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. As of 2014 its latitude is 23° 26' south of the Equator.

Fedor on his satphone: "The situation is much calmer today. The waves are big, but the wind is no more than 20 knots. The ocean is giving me a little break, perhaps due to my entrance into the tropics. I even managed to prepare a hot meal. It's really simple when you talk about it: you boil some water and add it to a package of freeze dried soup. However this process was rather difficult to perform for the last few days. Eating this hot meal brought memories from my polar expedition with Victor Simonov across the Arctic in April-May 2013. Every morning and night Victor and I would make the exact same food. It's amazing how time flies. In the spring of 2013 I was on the drifting ice of the Arctic Ocean, and right now I'm in a ocean row-boat in the South Pacific Ocean.“

Photo: Victor Simonov and Fedor Konyukhov. North Pole. 2013

“Last night the waves dropped on board three small calamari. I cleaned them and dunked in the boiled water for a few seconds. These little guys made a very nice addition to my dried food menu. I have fishing poles and all the fishing gear but due to the weather I haven’t had the chance to do any fishing. Hopefully I’ll get to do some fishing later if the weather cooperates.

The sky is thick with clouds; the solar panel is charging just enough for the most essential electronic equipment. Today I reached the traverse of Chilean port Antofagasta. There are 500 nautical miles between us. According to the map I'm still in the zone that containerships travel. I see them regularly; most likely they are travelling between the Panama Canal and Chile. The AIS continues to send signals when a vessel is detected somewhere on the horizon, or even beyond. I may not see the ship, but if I get a signal then instinctively I cannot relax until it's gone from the radar.

And so it goes. Another day on the ocean. Thank you to all for your support and prayers. I’m with you. Fedor."